The Problem With Men

For millennia, men have assumed a certain dominance, both physically and culturally, over the world around them. Yet, as we enter an age of disruption, wherein the norms of history are rapidly succumbing to irrelevance, even the traits that once distinguished men—be it winning glory in battle through a marked propensity to risk, the ability to hunt game large enough to feed a family through a craving for ultimate satisfaction, or the ability to out-earn a colleague on account of aggressive business tactics—are translating into drug addictions, rising domestic abuse rates, and an alienating recklessness amid the demands and mores of twenty-first century life.

The trend goes beyond societal forces. Men’s bodies themselves are under assault, as the Y chromosome is encountering greater problems reproducing, and is overly prone to toxins and mutations on account of its placement in a cell. Males are more likely to develop a wide range of diseases, perhaps in part because of the size of their brain in comparison to their bodies, and are less likely to survive birth. They stand at a significantly higher risk of learning disabilities and developmental disorders, and generally die at a younger age.

What’s more, with the current recession, men have found themselves increasingly victim to powerful feelings of insecurity, which could likely general an overarching pattern of anti-social behavior, including a very dramatic and rising cult-like inclination to take out their entire home.

Given the precarious state of masculinity at this pivotal moment, Big Think presents The Problem With Men, highlighting the latest research into the field and uncovering some of the measures that can be taken to prevent the potentially drastic consequences.